Intro to ‘Power & Decision Making’

What are the big themes we’ll explore?

Thomas Hobbes and the ideas

of Sovereignty, Social Contract,

and Philosophical Absolutism.

Robert Nozick and the ideas of

Libertarianism, the Minimal

State, Taxation, and Utopias.

John Locke and the ideas of

Liberalism, Rights, Toleration,

and Constitutionalism.

To which Key Thinkers does this term apply?

Power can have many facets.

(forms). Throughout this

module, we’ll be examining

what factors contribute to the

power that an individual or a

group has within society.

You’ll also explore how

‘power dynamics’ work in

your school & community.

With so many ‘Key Thinkers’ involved in this process, you get to examine this issue from many different perspectives.

At each stage try and link your Personal experiences, with the Local & National perspective, and the Global patterns.

That way, you will be able to build a ‘quiver full of arrows’ that you can draw out and use in an exam scenario!

But we don’t just think locally.

We also have to consider

power on National, European,

and Global levels. We need to

examine the institutions that

hold Political and Economic

power. Often, how decisions

are made has a big impact on

what decisions are made!!

Sylvia Walby and the ideas of

Gender, Feminism, and Public

& Private Patriarchy.

Karl Marx and the ideas of Social

Class, Class Struggle, Social Conflict

Theory, and Communism.

Kathleen Lynch combating

neoliberalism, affective

inequality, and Social Justice.

Before we dive in, however, we might just briefly consider one way of looking at power that touches on many of the

elements we’ll be discussing in more depth throughout the course – Max Weber and the Three-Component Theory

of stratification, also known as Weberian Stratification. Weber thought that there were three major areas that determined where you fit in society’s pecking order:

Wealth: Your ‘Economic Situation’.

Includes property such as buildings,

lands, farms, houses, factories and

as well as other assets.

Prestige: Your ‘Status Situation’. This

is the respect with which a person or

status position is regarded by

others. May be dependent on

intellectual or physical qualities.

Power: The ability of people or

groups to achieve their goals despite

opposition from others. All power is

relational between the “Parties”

involved in exercising the power.

You might also want to consider different types of power, but remember that Power is NEVER Neutral. Not exercising

your power when you have the ability to do so is to endorse the Status Quo. i.e. If Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos, has a net

worth of $165 Billion, which could save millions of lives every year and limit both human hunger and human suffering

and he chooses not to do so, what does that say about him? Think about these other types of power:

Consider the statement: “Stratification is universal, but variable.” How does this apply to your communities?

Can you identify ways in which Wealth, Prestige, and Power help determine one’s position in society?

2. Power Over

1. Power To 5. Power to Empower

4. Power Within 3. Power With

Define and give an

example of each of

the following ways

of exercising power

Some Possible Essay Questions on “Power & Decision Making” (drawn from the Subject Specifications) With each title decide which ‘Key Thinkers’, concepts, and Institutions are most relevant.

1. “Evaluate the extent to which some

groups are, or are not, under-represented

in decision-making processes in schools

and whether decision-making processes in

schools are appropriate.” [Your answer

should include examples and evidence to

support your positon. You should also refer

to the views of at least two theorists you

have studied, one of whom must be

named on your course.]

2. “Describe the process of decision-

making at national level in relation to

policies that impacts upon young

people.” [Your answer should include

examples and evidence to support your

positon. You should also refer to the

views of at least two theorists you have

studied, one of whom must be named on

your course.]

3. “Evaluate the strengths and

weaknesses of different approaches for

selecting an executive.” [Your answer

should include examples from both

democratic and non-democratic states and

evidence to support your positon. You

should also refer to the views of at least

two theorists you have studied, one of

whom must be named on your course.]

4. “Critically evaluate the view that, in

capitalism, social class is an important

way of categorising who has and who has

not got power.” [Your answer should

include examples and evidence to support

your positon. You should also refer to the

views of at least two theorists you have

studied, one of whom must be named on

your course.]

5. “Critically evaluate the view that, in a

patriarchy, gender is an important way of

categorising who has and who has not got

power.” [Your answer should include

examples and evidence to support your

positon. You should refer to the views of at

least two theorists you have studied, one

of whom must be named on your course.]

6. “Critically evaluate the view that

modern Irish society is a patriarchy.”

[Your answer should cite specific examples

from the Irish context and provide

evidence to support your positon. You

should also refer to the views of at least

two theorists you have studied, one of

whom must be named on your course.]

Hobbes Locke Nozick

Marx Walby Lynch

7. “Evaluate the effectiveness of the Irish

system of elections in representing the

will of all the Irish people.” [Your answer

should deal with two or more different

types of elections in which Irish citizens

vote. You should refer to the views of at

least two theorists you have studied, one

of whom must be named on your course.]

8. “Evaluate how effective the Irish

system of government is in representing

the will of all the Irish people.” [Your

answer should include examples and

evidence to support your positon. You

should refer to the views of at least two

theorists you have studied, one of whom

must be named on your course.]

Hobbes Locke Nozick

Marx Walby Lynch

Hobbes Locke Nozick

Marx Walby Lynch

Hobbes Locke Nozick

Marx Walby Lynch

Hobbes Locke Nozick

Marx Walby Lynch

Hobbes Locke Nozick

Marx Walby Lynch

Hobbes Locke Nozick

Marx Walby Lynch

Hobbes Locke Nozick

Marx Walby Lynch

These are also

possible Q (f) in

the DBQ section

Notes that these

two essays are

closely linked, but

have a different

geographic focus

– one is just

Ireland, the other

has no limitation.

Note the difference

here between an

“electoral” and

“governmental”

system. i.e. how you

get power, and what

you do with it!

Or look at these examples from the first two Leaving Cert exams: Identify the “Command Words” in each question and summarize how you would approach the Question.

2019 – Higher Level Section C – Questions 3 (a) & (b)

2018 – Higher Level Section C – Questions 3 (a)

’19 Q 3(a) – Key Thinkers:

Key Terms:

Possible Case Studies to Include:

Relevant Data Sources:

’19 Q 3(b) – Key Thinkers:

Key Terms:

Possible Case Studies to Include:

Relevant Data Sources:

’18 Q 3(a) – Key Thinkers:

Key Terms:

Possible Case Studies to Include:

Relevant Data Sources: